As a teenager, he lived with his parents in a fourteen-room Georgian guest-house, Wellington House, in Lydden near Canterbury. Here he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Niedorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Niedorf moved to Majorca where they stayed with the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France, and Wyatt and Hopper formed the Wilde Flowers with Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he became lead singer.
In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine with Ayers and Allen. Here Wyatt both drummed and sang, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.
In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and formed his own band Matching Mole (a pun on "machine molle", the French for Soft Machine), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during a drunken party, Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was subsequently paralysed from the waist down (paraplegia) and confined to a wheelchair.
The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with a collective of session musicians (including Mike Oldfield, the poet Ivor Cutler and Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), he released his acclaimed solo album Rock Bottom. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version of "I'm a Believer", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops surrounding his performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his wheelchair-bound appearance 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair', but gave a performance that could be described as disgruntled.
Wyatt's next album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, was more jazz-led, with free jazz influences and nods to African music. These solo recordings were all produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Wyatt guested with various acts, working with the likes of Henry Cow (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts album), Hatfield and the North, Carla Bley and Michael Mantler. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became an outspoken member and supporter of the British Communist Party. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello's anti-Falklands War song "Shipbuilding", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart. In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other ex-Canterbury acts such as News from Babel, he and his wife Alfreda Benge spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep was also highly acclaimed.
An uncredited Wyatt contributed the haunting "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La ForĆŖt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the acclaimed 2001 film Winged Migration. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais as being a big influence in his younger days.
In 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown festival, and in 2003 he put out his album Cuckooland.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Bjƶrk on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album MedĆŗlla.
In October 2007 he released Comicopera, a 16-track album, his first for the Domino label.
It was produced by Wyatt himself, and recorded at his home in Louth as well as Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio.
Comicopera is divided into three acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies'. Featured musicians include previous collaborators Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera. Wyatt said he was keen to capture the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly to have friends playing together.
"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is a company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the big bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room".
"He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro Tools and recorded it in like one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones ā and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octaves. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for 'Oceania', we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'." ā Bjƶrk, XFM 25 August 2004
Sea Song
Robert Wyatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the foam-crested brine
It's your skin shining softly in the moonlight
Partly fish, partly porpoise, partly baby sperm whale
Am I yours? Are you mine to play with?
Joking apart, when you're drunk you're terrific when you're drunk
I like you mostly late at night you're quite alright
When it's time to play at being human for a while, please smile
You'll be different in the Spring, I know
You're a seasonal beast like the starfish that drift in with the tide, with the tide
So until your blood runs to meet the next full moon
You're madness fits in nicely with my own, with my own
Your lunacy fits neatly with my own, my very own
We're not alone
The lyrics of Robert Wyatt's song "Sea Song" describe a complex relationship between the singer and "you," who comes from the sea. The singer is fascinated by "you," who is part fish, porpoise, and baby sperm whale, yet also human. The beauty of "you's" skin shines in the moonlight, and the singer enjoys being with "you" when they're both drunk at night. However, the singer finds it hard to understand the "different you" in the morning when "you" has to play at being human. The singer points out that "you" is a seasonal beast, like a starfish that drifts in with the tide.
Despite the complexities of their relationship, the singer finds comfort in "you's" madness, which fits neatly with their own. They are not alone in their lunacy. The lyrics seem to speak to themes of identity, duality, and the struggle to find one's place in the world. The contrasting images of the sea and the land, the animal and the human, the mad and the sane, all reflect this idea. Ultimately, the song seems to offer a sense of connection and companionship in a world that can often feel uncertain and overwhelming.
Line by Line Meaning
You look different every time you come
Your appearance changes every time you visit
From the foam-crested brine
From the sea with white foam on top
It's your skin shining softly in the moonlight
Your skin shines gently in the moon's light
Partly fish, partly porpoise, partly baby sperm whale
You are partially fish, partially porpoise, and partially baby sperm whale
Am I yours? Are you mine to play with?
Do we belong to each other? Are we allowed to play with each other?
Joking apart, when you're drunk you're terrific when you're drunk
Aside from the joke, you're amazing when you're drunk
I like you mostly late at night you're quite alright
I like you best at night, and you're perfectly fine then
But I can't understand the different you in the morning
I can't comprehend why you're different in the morning
When it's time to play at being human for a while, please smile
When it's necessary to act human for a bit, please smile
You'll be different in the Spring, I know
I know you'll be different in the spring
You're a seasonal beast like the starfish that drift in with the tide, with the tide
Like the starfish that float in with the tide, you're a seasonal animal
So until your blood runs to meet the next full moon
Until your blood pulses with the next full moon
You're madness fits in nicely with my own, with my own
Your madness fits well with mine
Your lunacy fits neatly with my own, my very own
Your craziness goes hand-in-hand with my own, my own specifically
We're not alone
We are not by ourselves
Lyrics Ā© BMG Rights Management
Written by: Robert Wyatt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tore Aune Fjellstad
You look different every time
You come from the foam-crested brine
It's your skin shining softly in the moonlight
Partly fish, partly porpoise, partly baby sperm whale
Am I yours? Are you mine to play with?
Joking apart
When you're drunk you're terrific
When you're drunk I like you mostly
Late at night, you're quite alright
But I can't understand the different you
In the morning when it's time to play
At being human for a while
Please smile
(interlude)
You'll be different in the spring, I know
You're a seasonal beast
Like the starfish that drift in with the tide, with the tide
So until your blood runs to meet the next full moon
Your madness fits in nicely with my own, with my own
Your lunacy fits neatly with my own
My very own
We're not alone
Kevin D
The line-up, per Wikipedia:
Personnel
Robert WyattĀ ā vocals, keyboards, percussion,Ā slide guitarĀ (2),Ā James' drum (1, 3 and 5), Delfina's wineglass (2), Delfina's tray and a small battery (3)
Mike OldfieldĀ ā guitar (6)
Gary WindoĀ āĀ bass clarinet,Ā tenor saxophoneĀ (5)
Ivor CutlerĀ ā voice (3 and 6), baritoneĀ concertina,Ā harmoniumĀ (6)
Alfreda BengeĀ ā voice (5)
Mongezi FezaĀ ā trumpets (3)
Fred FrithĀ āĀ violaĀ (6)
Hugh HopperĀ ā bass guitar (2, 4 and 5)
Richard SinclairĀ ā bass guitar (1, 3 and 6)
Laurie AllanĀ ā drums (2 and 6)
Production
Nick MasonĀ ā producer
Steve Cox ā engineer (at The Manor and on Delfina's Farm)
Dick Palmer ā engineer (at CBS London)
Toby Bird ā assistant engineer (at CBS London)
Interstellar Overdriven
This song is such a strong cathartic emotional release to listen to in these troubled times. God bless Robert Wyatt and all the wonderful music he created.
Olivier Lusseyran
This is my favorite album of all times. Robert is beautiful.
blankfrancine
It is truly a work of genius.
Pascal Marmin
Hearing... Crying...
Alain Maurel
One of the best songs ever
Si Brandon
One of the greatest love songs ever written imho. I absolutely adore this track. Thank you Robert.
Although ironically my wife just crossed the street to get away from me singing it at the top of my lungs, so what do I know
DsO
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anonyme1322
because it's a love song between a man and an imaginary/fantaisy creature that a normal woman can't understand, the reason why you stayed alone singing/feeling this song
Greta Gaul-Wood
@anonyme1322 Thanks for your profound insight
Mikromegas
The fact that you are physically able to sing this song impresses me quite a bit already!